Harrison:

These are quite simply false statements.  I assume that they are coming from a Muslim source. Muslims have a disingenuous approach to the Bible.  They study it, not to learn or to understand, but in order to attempt to find “dirt” on the Bible.  We should not listen to such distortions from people who have no real interest in understanding the Bible.

As for Daniel, I have written a book Daniel Prophet to the Nations (www.ipibooks.com) in which I thoroughly refute the false claim that Daniel was written after the persecution of Antiochus Epiphanes in 167-164 BC.  All the evidence tells me that Daniel was written in the sixth or at the latest the fifth century BC.  It has accurate historical information, such as the identity of Belshazzar (Daniel 5) that historical sources in the third century BC and later got wrong.  Its Aramaic is of the Eastern type, from about the fifth, or at the latest fourth century BC.  It has Greek words, but the only Greek words are for musical instruments, implying that Daniel was written BEFORE (not after!) the Greek conquest of Persia.  The conclusion that Daniel was written after the time of Antiochus Epiphanes is based primarily on a false presupposition that Daniel cannot contain inspired prophecy.  This is a completely circular argument.  Daniel was NOT written during Helenistic times.  Period.

As for its prophetic material, Daniel is loaded with messianic prophecies.  This statement is ludicrous! There is the prophecy in Daniel 2:44-45 which is a prophecy that in the time of the Roman kings, God will establish a kingdom that will never be destroyed, not will it be left to another people.  This is clearly a prophecy about the messianic kingdom established during Roman times by king Jesus.  This prophecy is repeated in Daniel 7:27.  Next, there is the messianic prophecy in Daniel 9:24-25 in which Daniel prophesies that 490 years after the decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem (which is in the 7^th year of Artaxerxes, as recorded in Ezra 7, which is 458 BC), Messiah will come to Jerusalem to finish transgression, put an end to sin, bring in everlasting righteousness, seal up prophecy and be anointed the Host Holy.  490 years after the decree in Ezra 7 is AD 33.  This is a prophecy that the Messiah will come to Jerusalem and be anointed the Most Holy in about the year AD 33.  How specific a messianic prophecy is this!  Yet, this unbeliever falsely claims that there are no messianic prophecies in Daniel.  He says that “otherwise the DSS would elaborate on it.”  What is he talking about?  This makes no sense.

On Zechariah, the book was written in 516 BC, which is the year the temple was rebuilt.  There has been a false rumor going around in Muslim circles that the last six chapters of Zechariah were written several hundred years later. The “proof” of this is that these last six chapters do not have a definite date attached to them.  This is very weak proof indeed!!!  If we look at the text, there is no indication of a second century BC date for the text.  Besides, Zechariah—the entire book—was included in the Septuagint Greek translation somewhere around 200 BC.

Then, this person has the audacity to claim that there are no messianic prophecies in Zechariah 9-14. Really???  How wrong is that!  For example there is Zechariah 9:9, which is just about the most obvious messianic prophecy in the entire Old Testament.  “Rejoice greatly, Daughter Zion! Shout, Daughter Jerusalem. See, your king comes to you righteous and victorious, lowly and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.” This is rather obviously a reference to the entrance of Jesus into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday.  Then there is Zechariah 11:12-13, which is a prophecy that the Messiah will be betrayed for 30 pieces of silver and the money be used to buy a potter’s field.  How wonderfully precise is this prophecy.  These events were fulfilled exactly as predicted, but the ones who fulfilled the prophecy were not disciples.  How cool is that.  Again, no messianic prophecy in Zechariah?  Who are they kidding?  Next, there is Zechariah 12:10 “They will look on me, the one they have pierced, and they will mourn for him as one mourns for an only child, and grieve for him as one mourns for a firstborn son.”  Again, this is quite obviously a prophecy which was fulfilled by Jesus of Nazareth.

You can safely completely reject this false statement about Daniel and Zechariah.

John Oakes